18
Stats and Royal investigator
Skill advanced: Tissue regeneration
Tissue regeneration: Level 4
Skill advanced: Bone mending
Bone mending: Level 3
Skill advanced: Mana control
Mana control: Level 2
Skill advanced: Pain tolerance
Pain tolerance: Level 2
“Psst… Hey… Listen.. HEY… LISTEN" AJ squeaked in a high pitched voice right into Luke's ear every few seconds
Luke could hear AJ. The effort it would take to make him stop was almost worth the pain it would cause. Luke's everything hurt. He couldn't remember the entire fight, everything beyond getting gored by the orc chieftain and tossed like a ragdoll into the treetops was a blur. He still lived though so that was a good sign.
“Hey… Listen…”
“SHHHH I hear you give me a minute" Luke gave up and shushed AJ
“Well you’ve had three days… you should try to hurry it along if you want to be in town for the investigator from the king and for Kevin when they get there.”
Three days? Had he really been out for three days? That pig must have seriously messed him up. Although on the other hand even surviving when he had been so thoroughly trounced was impressive. Perhaps his recovery time was impressive as well? He didn't FEEL impressive, he felt like a wrung out dish rag that had been beaten against a rock for good measure.
“We should talk" AJ continued to encourage the tiny men with hammers in Luke's head.
With a sigh Luke compromised by keeping his eyes closed blocking out the blinding light while they talked, “What about?”
“A few things… first you need be better about assigning your stat points… I know you haven’t assigned any in a while…”
Luke nodded and instantly regretted it as his brain rattled around, “Yea, let me have a look"
Name: L2
Race: Modified Second
Class: Datamancer
Stats:
Strength: 25
Constitution: 31
Endurance: 55
Dexterity: 25
Intelligence: 21
Wisdom: 9
Free points: 51
Skills: minimized
Fifty one free points… that seemed like a lot.
“Shouldn't I be getting less free points with time? I have even more available than last time.” Luke asked
“That’s how it should work yeah… strange… we have done quite a bit since then and it’s still pretty early. We should check with some adventurers to see how many points is normal when we go back.”
Luke found he was grateful for the distraction and threw himself into theory crafting a build, “I guess I should continue with my build… I am a tank to your damage dealing. My main damage is with magic but my stats don't affect magic until I get an update…
I can reach one hundred in endurance, that’s wildly lopsided in stats. If I do boost endurance to a hundred I should be tough as… something really tough that I can't think of right now"
“Holy crap weren't you at like fifty when you took a charge from that thing? Double that durability… it's probably worth it if you do that and then spend points on other stuff for a while after that… As long as you actually spend them…”
Luke spent his points, forty five in endurance brought it to one hundred, it would take time to adjust so he didn't feel better immediately as he had hoped. One to wisdom brought it to ten, and four to intelligence brought it to twenty five because round numbers are nice. The last point went to constitution bringing it up to thirty two.
After Luke shared his updates stats with AJ they continued onto the next topic while Luke recovered.
“Second order of business, we need to disable whatever is powering these dungeons, carefully.” AJ said
“What? What do you mean powering the dungeons?”
“These dungeons aren't natural, something is making them and powering them. As best as I can figure they are actually tears in reality of some sort, to other dimensions. We are in a forcefully stabilized miniature dimension with the sole purpose of generating monsters. It's working as intended… for now, but if it fails there are several possible outcomes none good.”
Luke swallowed hard, “Like?”
AJ was quiet for a long moment before answering, “Best case, the dimension collapses and only it is destroyed nothing else happens… That’s not really likely though. This ‘dungeon' is a mirror of the real world, everything there is copied here. When the miniature dimension breaks down it would need to GO somewhere, with it being a mirror of the real world it is possible the material inside the dungeon would try to occupy the same space as the real material outside. I don't know for sure what that would do but the worst case would be catastrophic fission of every atom within the area surrounding the dungeon… Big boom.”
Luke opened his eyes at that, looking at AJ to see if he was serious, “Ummm… aren't there thousands of dungeons in Alaska, er Turbeir I suppose?”
“Yea"
“So… you want us to, what? Turn the dungeons off? How's that supposed to happen?”
AJ shook his head, “I don't know but these things are far to dangerous to leave alone. We need to figure it out, maybe the demon lord guy knows something, he's supposed to be in control of the dungeons and their monsters"
Luke sighed again, that was becoming a bit of a habit, “Great… so we need to find a guy called the Demon Lord and talk him into giving up his army… at least it's not something difficult. Anything else?”
AJ just shrugged, “Nah I think that should do it for now. I gathered the orc ears already so we are good to go as soon as you can walk.”
Luke took that as a cue to check himself over. His skills and stats were certainly powerful. Even without focusing on constitution, which was supposed to be responsible for recovery, he was superhuman in his recovery speed. He had definitely broken his arm, and probably his ribs and a few other bones as well, not to mention being ripped nearly in two by the giant boar's tusk. Now, three days later, he couldn't find a scar and seemed to have the correct number of bones. He was just sore as he could ever remember being and had a headache that put his post-bender hangovers in college to shame.
It took an effort of will but Luke managed to haul himself to his feet. Once he started moving the pains started to fade. The trip back to town took much longer than the trip out. They spent the time discussing options and plans for how to find and reason with the Demon Lord. It probably wasn't a great idea to go in guns blazing and either set off some sort of disaster or get themselves killed. In the end they didn't reach a satisfying decision but they did have time since the castle that was home to the Demon Lord was on the opposite side of the state.
The Adventurer Guild was even more busy than the last time they visited. It took better than an hour to report the mission and collect their bounty. The total ended up being two platinum and eight gold, They weren't rich by any means, but they at least weren't flat broke any more either. Based on what they had seen in the shopping area a few days before, they would be able to afford lower quality gear or maybe one halfway decent piece of armor or a weapon. The implant upgrades were still a dream assuming they could find some way to block Nomed or someone else from breaking into it.
That thought brought Luke's mind back to Kevin, he should be arriving soon as well and surely he had some sort of defense. They found themselves in a strange sort of situation. With Kevin, the investigator from the king, and the dwarf smith and his wife, they were incredibly busy with several important tasks and people to meet, but none of it could be dealt with for a few days yet.
With nothing pressing and no Adventurer missions available close to the town they were left with exploring and sightseeing as their only options. AJ had also taken to reminding Luke to practice his telekinesis and flame jet abilities. He had been slacking on the practice before but the recent fight highlighted just how useful those abilities were. If he did manage to upgrade his implant and his stats started affecting the spells they would receive a serious leap in power and usefulness.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The days came and went relatively uneventfully. One day as they were wandering the outskirts of the town the communication/tracking device sounded out. They were being called to the Traveler Guild to meet with the investigator. When they arrived Luke and AJ were shown to a private room where a tall woman with unnaturally good looks waited.
“Thank you for meeting with me Mr…?” She asked
“I’m Luke and this is AJ" Luke said as he reached out to shake the woman's hand
She didn't shake, “Good to meet you Luke, AJ. I am Serena. I am responsible for looking into and advising the King on… mmm… delicate matters. I understand you two were at the center of an encounter with the immortal known as Nomed, is that right?”
The next several minutes were spent giving an account of their meetings with Nomed, during which Serena took many notes but didn't interrupt. They didn't leave anything out and once they reached the end of the story Serena looked thoughtful.
“So,” She finally said, “How do you know Kevin?”
That was not where Luke expected the conversation to go, “Umm, I know him from a long time ago, we used to live near one another.
“Why are you looking for him? What will you do if you find him?”
“Well first I want to see if he knows some way to block out Nomed from hacking into my implant”
“Why do you think Kevin would know anything about that? The King’s engineers are the ones who update the implants, and why didn't Nomed hack into your implant already?
That didn't take long at all. Luke expected someone to dig into the situation and find out that something was off, but it only took this Serena a few minutes to start asking difficult questions. He had intended to keep it a secret for a while longer, at least until they could meet with Kevin in person, but that ship had sailed.
“Kevin was the original inventor of the… “ Luke didn’t get to finish his statement before a blow to his stomach knocked the wind out of him.
“Quiet!” Serena snapped
AJ had drawn his pistol but it immediately flew from his hand and into the wall. Then Luke realized, the blow that hit him and the one that knocked the gun from AJ's grip were both too fast to see, and in order for something to knock the wind from him with his hundred points of endurance it would have to be one hell of a hit, even a baseball bat shouldn’t be enough anymore.
Serena spoke some odd words that Luke couldn't understand and a strange feeling swept over the room, like they had been sunk underwater.
Serena let out a sigh of relief, “There, it's safe to talk now. How do you know that about the implants?”
Luke was busy looking around, it felt like the walls would cave in under some unseen pressure, the feeling was unnerving.
AJ took over instead, “That's our business, why are you hiding it? And what did you do to this room?”
“I cast a privacy spell, no one can see or hear inside without overpowering the spell first which will be obvious.” Serena eyed the two of them before continuing, “Kevin is… dangerous. There are people who would see him killed, but that is much easier to say than do.”
She watched them closely for their reaction. Luke had heard similar things from Janet's videos and expected as much based on the last messages Kevin had recorded. Kevin was clearly unstable even centuries before, if this was still that Kevin then he probably hadn't gotten any better. Serena visibly relaxed, apparently satisfied with whatever she had seen in their reactions.
“You know about him then" she said
“I knew him before… all this" Luke waved around vaguely.
Serena nodded before speaking in the strange uncomfortable language again. This time her form shimmered and dissipated revealing a gnome in her place.
“Let’s start over then. My name is Holly. I do work with the King. We both were in the party that fought the first Demon Lord, along with Kevin. Who are YOU really?”
Luke was stunned… and a little jealous, that was some impressive magic this Holly was flinging about.
“Like I said, I'm Luke… I knew Kevin before"
It took some time to explain the situation to Holly. In return for their story she also told the story of the first Demon Lord from the perspective of someone who had been there. According to her the Demon Lord had been under some kind of strange influence and wasn't in control of their own actions. It became clear that Kevin had somehow staged the whole thing to defeat the Demon Lord and become a hero. When the rest of the party found out most of them rebelled. The elf who would later become king fought alongside Kevin to put down the rest of the party and the Demon Lord.
Holly had fled using her magic to escape quietly. Later the story of a great battle where Kevin and the elf king were the only survivors spread. Holly knew she wouldn’t be able to stand alone against Kevin, let alone when he had backup from the elf king and support from the people who saw him as a hero. So the story stood and Kevin made the elf into the king so he could live as a hero instead of a ruler himself.
Eventually Kevin grew bored being the hero and faded from the spotlight, until reappearing as a new Demon Lord. Then someone else showed up claiming to be the hero and fought the new Kevin demon lord. Every decade or so Kevin would play out this farce to feel powerful only changing which side he was on.
Finally the elf king decided to stop being a puppet and started gathering true support behind the scenes . The plan was to stop Kevin and end the cycle. Once Holly heard she snuck into the king's chambers and interrogated him. When she had been convinced he really meant to oppose Kevin, she joined up.
Even with the power of the king and Holly and everyone they could bring to bear they were uncertain they could stand against Kevin. He had been the one to create the implants including the one in his own head. The first implants had been wildly unbalanced and boosted their users abilities to extreme levels. Since then they had all been adjusted to a more reasonable level, except Kevin's own. He had left his own to continue enhancing his body and mind to the extreme. That had gone on for nearly a thousand years, it would take something extreme to kill Kevin now.
Once they exchanged the entirety of their stories, Luke and Holly sat in contemplation.
“So… you have an outdated implant that doesn't connect to the network then…” Holly stated rather than asked
AJ spoke up then, “Oh and the dungeons are unreasonably dangerous and might blow holes in reality if damaged. I intend to shut them down"
That sparked more conversation, after they had been talking for what seemed like hours they finally reached an agreement.
“Then, we need to shut down the dungeons AND end Kevin.” Holly said
“It's been a long time but Kevin may recognize me, I should leave before he gets here" Luke said
Holly shook her head, “He already is here, I am traveling with him. He thinks I’m an elf mage sent by the king to join his party. We are going to stop him this cycle. Would you join us if I can disguise you?”
Luke raised his eyebrows at that, he had heard of the elves but hadn’t seen any yet. Holly was claiming her Serena disguise was supposed to be an elf but other than the odd supermodel beauty nothing seemed different from the illusion and a regular human. He made another pointless and immediately forgotten mental note to examine good looking people a bit closer.
Luke shook his head, “You might be able to disguise me but I don’t have the network connection or messaging or whatever else comes with the new implants and I don’t want to risk opening myself to Nomed"
Holly thought for a minute before suggesting, “I can send you to the king, his engineers might be able to pick and choose parts of the upgrades to install. If you meet us at the next stop on our party gathering tour we can pick you up there. After that the party will march on the Demon Lord's castle.”
“Are you sure the king is trustworthy now? Seems sort of sketchy with him having been Kevin's pawn for so long…”
Holly grinned wickedly, “Oh I’m sure, he made sure to tell me everything, and wouldn't dare betray me now.”
That seemed ominous but Luke agreed anyway. The promise of protection from Nomed and an upgraded implant was too enticing. Luke and AJ had to be quick now that Kevin was wandering around town, but they needed to visit the smith and his wife before leaving for the capital to meet with the king's engineers.
“Ah et's ye, where ye been? Et was ready ages ago lad!” Seymour cried the moment Luke and AJ entered his shop
“Sorry, we’ve been busy” Luke said
AJ was already browsing the dagger selection, ignoring them entirely
“Aye aye, Hero in town an all. Look ere tho."
Seymour presented a cloth wrapped bundle from behind the counter. Luke carefully unwrapped the bundle exposing... a very plain looking spear. The weapon had no decoration or adornment, it didn't even look to be oiled properly. The haft was made from a dark almost black wood, the spearhead looked to be iron and was mounted to a metal jacket pinned to the wooden haft. The entire thing was about four foot long and looked more like a garden tool than a weapon.
With mounting disappointment Luke went to pick up the spear and stopped. The thing must’ve weighed more than fifty pounds. With his enhanced strength it wasn’t too unwieldy but certainly it was surprising.
“What's this made of?” Luke asked hefting the spear in both hands
“Ahh, et's a family secret. A special alloy strong as corelite but not near as expensive. Quite a bit heavier too as ye can see, ats good for a weapon like at, too light and et’s ard te hit anything ard enough.”
The wood must have been something special as well since it didn't seem to be poorly balanced. It might take some more strength to use correctly but if this spear held together it would certainly pack a punch at least. The reward for the orc dungeon hadn't been as much as Luke had hoped to save over the week but Holly had bankrolled them for outfitting and expenses in exchange for their promise to help stop Kevin.
“How much is something like this worth?” Luke asked
“Eh, et's like anything else, et's worth what someone is willin te pay fer et. Ow much ye make at tha guild?” Seymour asked
“Not enough to justify this that’s for sure, how about the old spear and four platinum?”
The spears that lined the rack were in the one to three platinum range, but this was a custom job and AJ needed a good weapon as well.
Seymour grunted, “Mpph make et six an me wife will enchant tha spear an whichever two daggers yer wee friend picks"
That was a significantly better deal than they had dared hope. They had looked into enchanting and the cheapest ones went for four platinum or more. They would be getting three for only two more than they had previously intended to spend at the smithy. The fact that it was Holly's money and not theirs dampened Luke's excitement at getting a good deal somewhat.
Once AJ had selected two daggers, one looking ornate and impressive, the other looking a lot like Luke's new spear, Seymour closed up shop and escorted them to his wife. The woman was so well known that she didn't have a shop, or need one. She worked out of a workshop attached to their home.
Seymour’s home was a study in contrast. It was large compared to other homes in the area, taking up about as much of the street side as two others. The building was a two story metal construction that belched smoke of several colors from at least four chimneys. It would look industrial and imposing if not for the flowering tree that jutted out of the center, or the fruit bearing vines that climbed the metal walls. The front door looked like a small garage door and opened like one when Seymour delivered a password.
Inside the smell of incense mixed with that of oil and grease, it should be overpowering and unpleasant but somehow worked.
“Mary? I brought the adventurers I told you about" Seymour's voice had completely changed now gentle and sweet, it didn’t even take extra effort to understand him anymore.
They made their way through the house and into Mary’s workshop. It would have been clear the room was meant for enchanting even if the woman herself wasn't there. Shimmering tools and softly glowing jars covered the shelves and table, all of which had strange arcane symbols etched into their surfaces. In front of the table on a stool so she could reach the work stood Mary the gnome, fully engrossed in a cloak she was working on. These two were the first interracial couple Luke had seen since waking up in the future, or maybe not who could say how many elves he had mistook for human, or other races that looked like one another.
“Mary?” Seymour tried again
“Hush you! I’m working” The tiny woman snapped before growling in frustration and shoving the cloak to the side.
“Oh never mind it's spoiled now” she sighed and then continued in a lighter tone, “Seymour, who did you bring me?”
“Mary, this is Luke and AJ the adventurers I told you about. Luke, AJ, meet Marigold my lovely wife.”
The gnome shook her head and waved Seymour over to the stool so she could kiss his forehead before turning back to Luke and AJ, “Alright then let me see what you’ve got"
Marigold waved at the table where Luke set the spear and AJ's daggers. The three men then vanished from her world as she began examining the weapons, moving them this way and that, checking them with various tools. Seymour led them to a sitting room where he brought Luke a coffee and even set one out for AJ even though the robot couldn’t drink.
“Well et's a done deal now, she'll call fer us when she's done" Seymour had returned to his previous speech pattern
“Don’t we need to tell her what sort of enchantments we want?” AJ asked
Seymour laughed, “Heh no, she saw ye both, an sees tha weapons. She knows what's best fer ye. Trust, I seen it befur, ye well realize when ye get em back.”